Hong Kong Smart Splurges

Hong Kong’s first and most famous hotel essentially invented a standard of service that the rest of the world’s hotels are still trying to match.

2008 SMART LUXURY WINNER
Unparalleled Service

This Hong Kong institution traces its colonial roots from 1928, but there’s nothing outdated at this luxury property: Rooms are done in classical décor and furnishings, but in-room broadband Internet, plasma TV, CD and DVD player add modern conveniences to the renowned luxury. Afternoon tea in the lobby café is redolent of decadent 1930s Hong Kong, while luxury-brand connoisseurs can shop at the exclusive ground floor mall. Exquisite French cuisine is served on-site and in style at Gaddis, while perfectly mixed cocktails are sipped at the served at Felix. For relaxation, there’s the ESPA spa; for adrenaline-junkies, the helicopter city tour from the rooftop heli-pad. See more Smart Luxury Award winners

 

This ultra-hip 113-room hotel opened in 2005 as the centerpiece of downtown Hong Kong’s luxury shopping mall, The Landmark, where neighbors include Harvey Nichols, Chanel, and Shanghai Tang. At an average of 540 square feet, the rooms are the city’s largest and are dominated with clean, contemporary lines that mesh well with the hotel’s overall ambiance of cool designer luxury; expect two flatscreen TVs, a hi-tech entertainment system, and wi-fi Internet. The on-site Oriental Spa features a divine amethyst crystal steam room, deluxe mud body wrap treatments, and oriental massage. The MO bar is among the city’s chicest lounges and guests are offered use of the hotel’s achingly hip Vertu mobile phones for free.

Tucked away in a corner of the hip Causeway Bay district, Jia – Philippe Starck’s first Asia hotel – drips with style and glamour. The name means “home” in Mandarin, and the 54 chic suites cater to guests with distinctly upscale living standards. It disregards traditional hotel niceties (such as an entrance sign), opting instead for high-concept eclecticism – expect Venetian chandeliers, plump satin armchairs, goose-down duvets, and marble bathrooms. Hi-tech facilities include flat-screen TV, DVD and VCD home theater system, refrigerator, electric stove, and Smeg microwave. Extra touches include free broadband Internet and free local phone calls, an open-air second-floor sundeck, and VIP entry to Hong Kong’s very exclusive Kee Club, about a 15-minute cab ride away.

Relive the colonial past as you sip a cup of Earl Grey in the lobby of the elegant Peninsula Hotel, opened in 1928. If the fleet of Rolls Royces outside doesn’t impress you, the effortless glamour inside this “Grande Dame of the Far East” certainly will.

Nibble on creative dishes like roast pork with fennel and cabbage, or the wonderful passion du...more

The Excelsior Hotel’s rooftop bar is a perennial favorite for its champagne cocktails and panoramic Victoria Harbor views. Renovated in August 2007, it lives up to its acronym (Talk Of The Town) and offers live music by an in-house band most nights of the week.

This luxury Chinese boutique offers a discerning East-Meets-West take on home furnishings, clothing, accessories, and gifts. If you really want to blow the budget, there’s even a made-to-measure clothing service staffed by professional tailors.

Fresh Fish Fans of Nobu restaurants will be thrilled to learn that the famed Asian eatery opened...more